


A Little Bit of Change

by thatorangedrank



Category: Original Work
Genre: F/M, Original Character(s), Original Fiction
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-02
Updated: 2014-08-02
Packaged: 2018-02-11 10:47:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,964
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2065200
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thatorangedrank/pseuds/thatorangedrank
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Logan is a young, outgoing man who's just graduated from Croftford Academy, a school dedicated to training the soldiers of the country. For his first one year mission he's been assigned to a team that includes his sister, his cousin, and a smokin' hot babe. </p>
<p>What could possibly go wrong?</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Little Bit of Change

**Author's Note:**

> This was our final for American Literature. We had to write a short story that included a compelling plot, a moral, point of view changes, and originality. I actually got and A on this and I wanted to share it with you guys.  
> :) enjoy my shit.

Kneeling, Logan held her body close; crying as rain bombarded the pair or them. Her beautiful brown hair was sopping wet with rain and blood, her rosy skin losing its red tint and becoming paler. He sobbed loudly and pitifully. How was he supposed to move on? They’d only just barely admitted their feelings for one another, but he had always loved her. From the very moment he laid eyes on her he fell in love instantly.

At age 19, he had just graduated from Croftford Academy, a military training school of which a long line of his own family members had graduated from, including his older sister, Jayna, and older cousin, Marcus. At the academy, he was trained as a special unit for a specific team, coordinated by your own skill set; his was flying.

His assigned team, just so happened to be on the same one as his cousin, who was not only the leader of the team but excelled in the martial arts portion, and his sister, who’s specialized skill was extreme accuracy with a gun. A normal team usually had a total count of four members so he had been eager to meet the other teammate, having not had any affiliations with them before hand. And one thing was absolutely certain, he was not disappointed.

Marcus and Jayna had been leading the blond boy around their tiny facility, in the middle of no-where, when they had taken him into the control room to meet their other member. Pepper had turned once she heard her door being opened. Her hazel eyes portraying curiosity at the younger new teammate.

His green eyes began to sparkle almost instantly, which made her quite uncomfortable. However her being 27 years old hadn’t seem to faze through the 19 year old. When asked what her job among the team was she simply replied, “I’m in charge of the databases within the facility. I’m also quite skilled at hacking into enemy computers and making sure they don’t hack us. I guess you could say I’m the computer wiz on our team.” She gave him a delicate smile which he returned ten fold.

Seeing as there usually wasn’t much for him to do, only having to go out and scope once a day to make sure their enemy was still in line and not planning to attack, he generally stayed with Pepper in the control room bringing her lunch and whatever drink she asked for. Jayna often saw him running around like a small dog playing fetch for her. It didn’t really suit well for the older sister to see her baby brother being taken advantage of. So she asked him. “Why do you do that? She can do it herself, she certainly has before.”

“I know that, but I want to.” Logan responded with no hesitance.

“It’s not fair to you, and I do not like seeing you treated this way. Tell me the real reason you keep doing this and hanging around her?”

He grinned widely and simply responded with “ ‘Cause it’s all part of my master plan to make her fall in love with me.”

Taken aback, Jayna stumbled over her words. “T-To wha-? L-Logan, she’s nearly t-ten years older than you!”

“So? Age ain't got a whole lot to do with it. Besides, there’s no rule against dating your teammate.” He tried to reason.

The older girl scoffed. “Well that’s gonna change once I’m in charge.” He simply laughed.

“Jay, you can't make rule changes like that! You’d have to be the main man of the military to enforce rules! Even then, people still wouldn’t follow them. Know I wouldn’t. ”

She blushed brightly before grunting in irritation. She turned and began walking away. “Whatever. Be her stupid play thing. See if I care.”

A month went by of the same routine, but instead of Logan awkwardly sitting there, he and Pepper began to talk. It was mostly her explaining things about what she was doing at that time. If there had been one thing he nearly failed at it was the computer portion of his training. A few more weeks had gone by of the same thing but the had begun adding in small chit-chat, very soon they were having real conversations nearly everyday. They’d been getting closer and closer with each passing day, their fondness for each other reach greater heights.

One night she had been working late and had fallen asleep at her computer after she had sent Logan out to get her some coffee. When he returned, he placed the coffee down and gently woke her. “Pepper, wake up.”

She slowly rose from her slumber. “W-wha-?” She yawned widely. “I must have fallen asleep… What time is it?” She rubbed at her sleepy eye.

“Time for bed.” He mused. “Come on.” He helped her up, picking her up to carry her to her room. He was a fairly tall kid and she barely weighed anything.

“You don’t have to do that, I can walk on my own.” Her eyes began to close again, the warmth making her sleepy once more.

“I know… but I want to.” He began to blush, which was the first time she saw him tint red. They finally made it to her room, where he tucked her in and made sure she was warm. “H-hey, Pepper?”

“Hmm?” she asked drowsily.

“D-do you think? That… maybe… you’d want to-”

“Logan, do you wanna go out tomorrow?” She asked huddling under the blanket.

Surprised, he responded. “Huh? O-oh y-yeah! I would!”

“Great. “ She smiled and rolled over. “Goodnight, Logan.”

“G-goodnight.”

The next night they went out to lay on a blanket and look at the stars. It was there that they kissed. It was light, and quick but it sent them both into a mental high that they could barely think. When they went to bed, neither of them could sleep. Logan was too happy, everything had gone according to plan. Pepper, on the other hand, was awake for an entirely different reason.

On their way back from their date, Pepper had seen a figure sneaking out of a window, assuming it was just Jayna wanting to get away from everyone again, she didn’t say anything. However, the way Jayna had been acting lately alarmed Pepper. Her temper had grown much shorter and had gotten into many more arguments with Marcus than usual. It made Pepper very nervous and she certainly did not like where it might lead up to.

It was another day on their miniscule base, and it was going as it usually had. Marcus had gathered them for a weekly meeting and progress report. “And another thing, two days ago Logan picked up some evidence that the enemy has moved into a near-by, abandoned barracks. We don’t quite know how they managed to get past our radar, but we plan on flushing them out at soon as possible.”

While Logan and Pepper nodded, Jayna, as usual, questions their leaders orders. “Why? It’s not like their doing anything. Maybe their old place got destroyed or something.”

“Well if that’s the case then good.” Logan inputted. “Serves ‘em right in my opinion.” He huffed.

Ignoring Logan Marcus said, “It’s because there might be ammunition and firearms in the place that wasn’t removed. They may be planning to attack us so-”

“So better we attack them first without any real reason?” Jayna’s voice rose to aggressive.

Marcus’ tone grew stern. “Better safe than sorry. Now… The next topic-”

“What so I don’t get a say in anything?” Jayna shot out of her chair, glaring down at her cousin.

He glared right back. “No. It’s three out of four, now. Sit. Down.”

“No!”

He stood as well, his hands remaining on the flat surface of the table. “Jayna, I won’t ask you again.” Both Pepper and Logan had sunk into their chairs in an attempt to avoid the argument that was about to happen. “If you have a problem with the way I run this team then-”

“Of course I do!” She interrupted him. “You’re pathetic and the biggest wimp I’ve ever seen! What kind of a man attacks before he even knows the outcome of something? You’re scared and are only concerned with your own team’s life than everyone else in the world!” She finished yelling only to be followed by a short silence.

“Are you done with your temper tantrum yet?” Marcus asked. “If so then-” He was unable to finish his sentence due to a fist hitting the side of his face. Before Logan had anytime to think, Marcus had grabbed her hitting hand, twisted it backward, and pinned her to the ground with one swift move. A small trickle of blood dripped down from a small cut on his swollen cheek. “You forget your place much too often for my comfort.” His tone was deep and, in Logan’s view, down right scary. “Next time you think something like that is a good idea, double check your analysis.” He pulled her up and set her upright, “You’re excused.”

“But-” She shut her mouth before she finished her sentence. She tried to make eye contact with Logan, but he was looking away from her, his cheeks tinting pink with embarrassment. She clenched her fists and left. “Fine.”

Since the meeting, Logan had been asked to triple his scouting missions a day, just to check on the enemy at the barracks. It had been exhausting on both Logan’s energy and on his aircraft. It was only a one-seater but it ate fuel like a bear getting ready to hibernate. His supplies had gone down dramatically since taking on the extra patrols. He didn't get to spend as much time with Pepper as he used to, but when he did, she took care of his worn out self.

Over the next few days, Logan hadn’t seen much of his sister. While he was ashamed of her childish behavior the other day, he was concerned with what she had been up to. He tried to catch her a few times but she always left before he had a chance to talk to her. She was always making some excuse of needing to shoot something. It wasn’t until Logan was patrolling from the skies did he become suspicious of his older sister.

While in the sky, he saw her shooting off multiple different guns, as if testing them. He attempted to get closer without her seeing, which he did successfully. Jayna was handing the guns she had tested off to a strange, mysterious man. Logan did not recognize the uniform, so to the best of his ability, he took a close up picture, using the scope from his plane. He got a clearer view of the man on his screen. As the picture enhanced, the pit of Logan fell deeper and deeper. The uniform suddenly looked all too familiar. His sister, Jayna, was helping the enemy organize the firearms they had found in the barracks. She had been coordinating with the enemy and many things suddenly made complete sense. He turned and went back to the base.

While he waited for her to return, he kept thinking of all the possible reasons she would want to go against him, her little brother. It simply didn’t make sense. As she walked in, he quickly broke from his thoughts, asking her if they could talk. She was about to refuse but he added a very desperate “Please.” And she couldn’t say no.

They wandered outside for a good few minutes before he finally asked her. “What were you doing with the enemy?” She froze immediately, not responding. “ I didn't tell Marcus or Pepper I’m just… Why? I mean what’s the appeal?

Jayna scoffed. “That’s like asking what’s the appeal with you liking Pepper…” She said bitterly.

It took Logan a moment before he realized. “That man you were giving the guns to…” Logan felt a sense of protection fill him up. She nodded stiffly. His tone became firmer “How long have you been together?”

“Just after you showed up.”

“And what about his team?”

“They like me and I like them.”

Anger swelled once more. “You can’t like those people, Jayna! Do you have any idea how many times they've tried to shoot me down?” He noticed some storm clouds rolling in from a distance but did not acknowledge their presence.  

“Well I do like them and I especially like him so-”

“So nothing. It’s over. You’re never seeing him again.” His tone had changed drastically. “You’re my sister and I know what’s best for you.”

“Bull crap! You can’t do that!”

“Oh would you rather I tell Marcus and Pepper? Would you have me to give them further reason to treat you like a child? A further reason to disgrace all, if any, manners our parents have distilled in you over the years? Would you like that? Would you like to be the disgrace of the family?” He was counting on his brutal honesty to finally change her mind.

She seemed on the cusp of tears. “N-no. But-”

“But nothing. It ends.” He had turned to walk back inside. “I’m gonna work out some time schedules for you to follow and if you don’t keep to them, I will tell.”

“You think I’m going to stay here after all this?” He turned to look over his shoulder. Her eyes were streaming with tears, her fists were clenched, and her shoulders were hunched over. “I’m leaving.”

His control of the situation had flown right out the window. “You’re what?!”

She looked at him with something he had never seen before. He couldn’t quite place it, but it scared him. Although he didn’t know it, Pepper had witnessed nearly the entire conversation from a hidden spot. She saw what he didn’t, and she could see Jayna had pulled her gun out while Logan’s back was turned. Pepper remained still, as to not make a sound that might startle Jayna. Minutes of pure tension passed before a loud roll of thunder finally broke the sister.

With lightning speed, she began shooting at her brother. He had been fortunate to dodge them the first few times but now she had learned his reaction time and pointed her gun right where she knew he would be. Pepper moved as fast as she could to protect Logan. Everything had seemed to slow down. Logan stepped right where Jayna predicted, Jayna fired. But she didn’t hit Logan.

Logan was petrified, he was confused and scared. He didn’t know what to do when a bloody Pepper had just fallen into his arms. He kneeled do to help her, resting her head on his lap. His mouth hung open with absolute shock. “W-why did you… N-no. Pepper no!” He gained a tighter grip on her. “Why would you do that? You could’ve died!”

She coughed up blood, giving a small smile to him. “I don’t think we’ll have to worry about me almost dying…”

His heart leaped into his throat. “W-what are you? No! We can still get help!” He looked up, Jayna had vanished, there was no one around as he yelled and pleaded. “Please! Someone? Anyone! Help! Please, please help us!!”

“Logan its useless…”

“No! I won’t lose you I… I can’t… You’re my everything, Pep, I…” Tears ran down his face. A light drizzle had begun to rain on them. He had never felt so utterly useless before. He couldn’t bring her food, he couldn’t bring her coffee, and he couldn’t save her. “Just tell me what I can do for you, Pep.” His face was burrowed into her shoulder. “Just tell me and I’ll do it I swear.” When she didn’t respond he looked up at her. He let out a destroyed whine, her beautiful hazel eyes were glazed over and distant. She was dead.

Logan held her body close; crying as rain bombarded the pair or them. Her beautiful brown hair was sopping wet with rain and blood, her rosy skin losing its red tint and becoming paler. He sobbed loudly and pitifully. How was he supposed to move on?

Two weeks had gone by, Logan had stayed in his room nearly everyday, refusing to have an appetite. At first all he did was cry in agony over losing both his first love and his older sister in one day. Jayna had left them to join their enemy, who had vanished from all radar. Marcus was doing his very best to keep things afloat by himself until Croftford Academy sent over new recruits.

Over the two weeks Logan and spent isolated, he had plenty of things to think about. How exactly could he live in a place full of so many memories that it hurt. He hadn’t even stayed here a year and his world was already crashed around him. It began occurring to him what to do. That night he began packing all of his belongings.

The next morning, he surprised Marcus by stepping into the kitchen; surprising him even more with a duffle bag in his hand. Logan explained to his cousin that he was leaving the military. Marcus didn’t have much to say on the matter, just silently agreed. He apologized for leaving him with an empty team and wished him all the best of luck.

By late evening, Logan was settling into a hotel in a town he hoped to start over in. As he lay there, he decided not to dwell too much on the change. **Change happens to everyone, whether its major change or not you must live to cope with it. And once you accept it, that little bit of change, then you’re life will finally begin to look appealing.**


End file.
